Anecdotes

"Pete Kelly's Blues" was originally a radio series created by Richard L. Breen and starring Jack Webb. It ran on NBC as a summer replacement series from July 4 to September 19, 1951. It later became a short-lived TV series (Pete Kelly's Blues (1959)), produced by Webb.

Jack Webb actually knew how to play the cornet. He loved jazz music and, as a boy, was given a cornet by a musician who lived near his home. While he never truly mastered the instrument, he knew it well enough that his handling and fingering of the cornet in this movie is accurate.

Features Peggy Lee's only Oscar nominated performance. It was her last film.

Jack Webb provided narration throughout the film, just as he did in Badge 714 (1951) and Dragnet 1967 (1967).

The normally blonde Jayne Mansfield is a redhead in this picture.